Momento
by Midnight Raptor
Summary: Very few people can evoke the feeling of sadness and pain in Jack Sparrow by simply being alive. And a certain boy on the Pearl is one of those few.JE.Oneshot.Pleeeeeease R&R!looks at readers with puppy eyes


Summary: Very fewpeople can evoke the feeling of sadness and pain in Jack Sparrow by simply being alive. And a certain boy on the _Pearl_ is one of those few.

A/N: This is just something I thought of while trying to get to sleep one night. There were actually two versions of this in my head but I decided to write this one instead. So here it is! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I regretfully do not own anything POTC. Alll I own in this is the plot and a certain added character.

Momento

Somewhere in the vast Caribbean Sea, Jack Sparrow stands at the bridge of his ship. Weather-beaten hands caress the railings, his touch as gentle as how one might touch a child. The sun was high and the winds were fair making for a fine day of free sailing. He allows his dark eyes to wander across the _Black Pearl_ and he takes in every little thing happening on deck.

The crew was in high spirits for it indeed was a fine day. They were all out making use of today's good fortune, throwing good-natured insults over a mug of rum or just relaxing lazily in the sun. The captain watches all this before his gaze is drawn to a mock duel between a certain 7 year old boy and the _Pearl's_ bos'n. Jack smiles slightly. Although the bos'n is a good 30 years the boy's senior, the lad was holding up on his own just nicely or else Jack would've put an end to the fight as soon as he saw it, punishing the boy for his cheek and the bos'n for accepting the fight.

As the duel continues, Jack finds himself staring at the youngster. He was tall for his age, coming up to Jack's waist when he stood next to the captain. Thick, light brown hair was permanently side swept across his forehead and his hazel colored eyes seemed to always sparkle with all the curiosity and adventure that was in him. _Just like his mother_, Jack thinks. At once, he is bombarded with recollections of the woman much like he always does whenever he thinks too much about the boy. Sometimes what he is reminded of brings him joy; other times they fill him with nothing but pain and sadness. Whatever the emotion he feels, he always silently asks one thing: Why did it happen?

Slowly, Jack Sparrow sinks into a memory with all sound and movement around him gradually fading away.

_Jack's cabin was utter chaos. In the dimly lit, confined space that it occupied came a woman's shrieks of pain, a baby's wails, and the panicked shouts of two men. And it didn't help that half the crew was trying to get a peek of what was going on through the windows of the cabin._

_Jack was at a loss. He had no idea how to deliver a child. Why would he? For a moment, he simply stared at the woman on his bed, her beautiful face contorted in agony. How could such a small thing as a baby cause a woman so much pain? Just then she let out another scream and Jack was jolted out of his thoughts. Knowing that he couldn't just stand there any longer, he collected himself and sat down beside the woman._

_"Elizabeth, love, just hang on." He grasped her hand in his, something he immediately regretted doing for her grip started to stop the flow of blood to his hand in an instant. "You're_ _almost there."_

_"The head is out." announced Gibbs who had taken the place of the midwife to both his terror and honor._

_"Did you hear that, Lizzie? The head's out. Which means about a third of the pain is halfway over." Jack said, trying to put some brightness into his voice._

_Elizabeth didn't respond but Jack thought he saw the shadow of a smile on her lips. She screamed again as she gave another push. Jack felt as though his fingers were about to be severed from his hand._

_Gibbs chimed in for the second time. "I can see the shoulders." Jack glanced at his first mate who looked as if he were about to pass out at any given moment._ Lord help us if he does.

_"Come on. You can do it, love. Just a few more pushes and it'll be all over."_

_Suddenly, she spoke. "Jack..." she whispered, her voice weak from yelling. "It hurts so much."_

_With his free hand Jack gently stroked her forehead. "I know, Lizzie. I know. But you're going to have to push a few more times. Then the pain will be gone." He bent down to kiss her head. "I promise."_

_She nodded then gave another push. Jack watched as tears began streaming down her face. It tore his heart apart to see her tormented like this but he couldn't do anything about it._

_"Whole upper body's out." Gibbs wiped his sweaty face on his sleeve while keeping one hand to support the fragile infant._

_"Okay, this is it, love." Jack said in a soft voice. "One more push. Just one more then it'll be all over. Savvy?"_

_For a second, Elizabeth looked as if she was going to break down, the pain too much for her to bear. But she screwed up her courage, took a deep breath, and push for all she was worth. Several agonizing seconds went by before._

_"The baby' s out!" yelled Gibbs with relief._

_Jack realized that he had been holding his breath and let it out with a huge sigh. Elizabeth's grip on his hand slowly loosened and Jack could feel the circulation returning. He looked at her and saw that she had a small smile on her face. This, in turn, made him grin for her pain was now over._

_Just then Gibbs spoke again. "Uh...Jack? There's...some sort of rope connecting-"_

_"You have to cut that, Mr. Gibbs." came Elizabeth's voice and Jack could've sworn there was a little laugh behind it._

"_Oh, yes, right." replied Gibbs looking a bit flustered as he produced a knife from his person._

_"And clamp the opening on the baby shut." commanded Elizabeth again._

_"Aye."_

_A moment later Gibbs had wrapped the child in a blanket and was smiling at Elizabeth._

_"Miss Swann, you have a baby boy."_

_As Gibbs gently handed Elizabeth the bundle of cloth, Jack couldn't help but beam. A baby boy. He looked at him, his tiny little fingers curled with his thumb inserted in his mouth, and wondered how such an innocent living being could exist in a world plagued by evil and madness. Jack reached out to touch the boy's face and stroked his forehead much like how Jack had stroked his mother._

_"He's perfect." said Elizabeth and Jack couldn't agree with her more. She paused then said decidedly, "Jonathan. His name is Jonathan."_

_"Jonathan it is then." Jack loved how the name sounded in his mouth. It just seemed to fit._

_Their quiet moment was interrupted however by the return of Gibbs who had come with more blankets. There was the sound of cloth being dropped as he seemed to stop dead in his tracks. Jack looked up to see his face set with pure horror._

_"What is it, man?"_

_He lifted a shaking finger and pointed at Elizabeth. "She's...she's bleeding, Jack!"_

_Immediately, Jack leaped to his feet and went to the foot of the bed. Sure enough blood was flowing out from in between her legs. Momentarily, he froze with terror. _What was going on? _Just then Elizabeth let out a gasp and he rushed back to her side. Her screams started up again._

_"Lizzie, what's wrong, love?"_

_All he got to answer his question was a groan and a shudder that ran through her whole body. All the while tiny Jonathan was clutched tightly to her chest, his eyes still closed, not even aware of what was going on._

_"The blood's flowing more freely, sir!" yelled Gibbs who was attempting to stop the surge._

_Suddenly, Elizabeth's eyes grew wide and she grasped Jack's hand. Her mouth opened and closed as if she were about to say something but no words came out. Jack leaned in closer_.

"_Take care of...Jonathan, Jack." she murmured into his ear._

_Jack stared at her, not believing what she was saying. They were going to care for this child together. She couldn't leave like this. She couldn't._

_"But-"_

_"Please..." With that her body relaxed into the bed. Jack watched in horror as her chest slowly stopped rising with every breath. Her soft, brown eyes fluttered shut and all lines on her face disappeared. For a moment, Jack didn't know what to think. He simply stared at Elizabeth, the woman he loved from the second he first laid his eyes on her. And now she was gone._

_Jack leaned toward her again and kissed her forehead. Then for the first time in his pirate life, Jack Sparrow cried, all the while whispering "Elizabeth" over and over again. And soon after, little Jonathan's wails followed those of the man his mother loved._

As his flashback comes to an end, Jack visibly shakes himself as if doing so would rid him of that torturous memory. That was one of the particular ones that he dreaded reliving for each time he did the wound that just seemed to be healing would always open again, filling him with new pain. He never sopped loving Elizabeth and he never would. She was the only one who could keep up with him and his thirst for freedom and he loved that about her. He always would.

Jack realizes that he's still watching the duel going on and returns his interest to it. The boy was still going strong against the experienced bos'n, who was now growing a bit desperate with his attacks. Jack felt a smile tugging at his lips. Jonathan was never one to disappoint and also wasn't one to accept defeat. The lad had heart, Jack would give him that.

Suddenly, Jonathan disarms his opponent with a mere flick of his hand and, without disrupting the movement of his sword, snatches a pistol form one of the bystanders. He points it directly between the bos'n's eyes much to the man's annoyance and he grudgingly surrenders to the young boy. At this, Jack absolutely beams.

"Pirate." he whispers. The boy was one of them through and through and Jack couldn't have been more proud. When the duty of raising a child was given to him, he had sworn to himself that he would raise a boy that would make Elizabeth proud. In a lot of ways, young Jonathan was just like any other 7 year old who loved to run around and annoy Jack at times with his many questions about everything. But with a sword in his hands, he was a pirate and a damn good one too if it was up to Jack to decide.

He thinks back to Elizabeth now. She would've been proud of her son, Jack had no doubt in his mind. After all, she was a pirate just as much as the boy was. Jack sighs. _You know I'll always love you, Lizzie_, he thinks. _From the moment I met you, to the day I die. And even though you're gone, a part of you is always here right beside me and I swear toyou I won't ever let anything happen to him._ Then he thanks her for giving him the one thing in the whole world that he loves just as much as her. His son.

* * *

A/N: The other version I had was actually having Jonathan be Will's child and not Jack's. But Will died so Elizabeth came to Jack, with Elizabeth also dying in child birth and Jack caring of the boy and loving him as his own son. But I felt it would've ended upbeeing longerfor me to explain things seeing that my free time is now limited so I just stuck with this one. Anyway, please review! They mean a lot to me! 


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